Prompt Cast
The Evolution of Pronouns in Shakespearean English
TLDR Shakespearean English had a formal distinction between second person plural and second person singular pronouns, with "thou" being the informal version used when talking to friends and family. However, modern English now only uses "you" for both singular and plural, resulting in less precision but less confusion.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
Shakespeare's English is filled with words that no longer exist in the English language.
01:35
English used to have a formal distinction between second person plural and second person singular pronouns, but now we only use "you" for both.
03:02
English used to have a distinction between second person singular and plural pronouns, with "thou" being the singular form, and verbs would often have different endings when used with "thou".
04:40
In Shakespearean English, "thou" was the informal version of "you" used when talking to friends, family, and people of the same social class, while the formal version of "thou" was "you" and the possessive form was "thine."
06:27
In Old English, the letter "thorn" was used to represent the "th" sound, but when printing started, it was replaced with the letter "y," so when you see "ye" in old signs, it actually means "the."
08:00
William Tyndale translated the Bible into English and used "Thou" to refer to God in order to avoid confusion between the singular and plural meanings of "you."
09:35
Using "you" for everything in modern English is less confusing, even though it is less precise than using "thou" and other forms.
